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TT Armor or..

If your choice is now between the Stacker and the Armor I'd go for the Stacker.

I have the Stacker 830 and highly recommend it.

It's drasitcally more expensive than the Armor though. If you get the 810 (the one pictured earlier) it's a good deal cheaper. The Design is a little more standard too.
 
I think my choices are like this so far:
1. Stacker
2. Lian Li v1000 or armor
3. antec 900 or 'third option last resort' case.

What do you mean the design is a little more standard?
 
K3Fallout said:
What do you mean the design is a little more standard?
Click to expand...

The Stacker 830 is really only similiar to the earlier stacker models in two ways. One being it's general size, the other being the 5.25 bays down the entire front of the case. Once you get past those two things it's a whole new ballgame.

I'd highly suggest checking out some reviews of the Stacker 830 to see just how different it is than it's older brothers.

Oh, and one other note: The Silverstone TJ09 is the same price as the Stacker 830 in a lot of places and is another one that's well worth your consideration. If you look at it, don't let pictures fool you. It's bigger than you think. The motherboard tray is wide enough to fit extended ATX motherboards.
 
You know, right when I considered the stacker, I thought about that as well. After I saw the price difference from new egg though I just threw off the idea.
 
K3Fallout said:
You know, right when I considered the stacker, I thought about that as well. After I saw the price difference from new egg though I just threw off the idea.
Click to expand...

Cases are one thing Newegg doesn't price quite so competitively. I'd look elsewhere to see if you can find a deal on any of them.

*edit*

Hey, when you say you're looking at the Stacker.. are you looking at the 830 or the older models?

If you're looking at the older ones.. I'd say your choice between that and the Armor should go to which one you like more aesthetically.
 
When it comes to the model of the stacker, I really have no clue. I really like the newer models but the price is killing me. If cooler master had made one that was all black and came with a window I'd just on that.
 
lloose said:
Thats a great case! Go for it. I have always lusted after Lian Li cases. I just got a 900, otherwise I would have gotten one.


I don't doubt you. I just don't like how TT rips off case designs. Quality wise, the original is usually better... There's a lot of plastic on an armor.
Click to expand...


??? The front bezel on mine is plastic, and of course the side window is lexan. The rest is all metal, unless you're counting the quick release drive holders. And the SECC version of the armor uses a metal front bezel.

I found it to be a very well-built case - - the only draw back is the (loosely defined as a) "door" design. The hinges are a little loose. Nothing 2 minutes with heatshrink tubing didn't fix, but still something they should have caught in the design phase.
 
Well there is an all black stacker 830, but negative on the window. They all have the mesh down the side. And the price will still hurt. Same way for the TJ09. Even the places with good deals on it, it's still $250.

That said there's nothing preventing you from doing a little user mod and shaping a window to fit the side panel in place of the mesh piece. I think that would actually be pretty damn cool.

If you're really wary of spending that kind of money stick to your original choices. They're generally better values. I love my stacker, but if you're not super nitpicky on your cases the advantages won't outweight the price increase.
 
Ok, let me rephrase. I just don't like the shape of the mesh on the older stackers :p. Yeah, I suppose price,reviews and time will tell. All I can pray for is some sort of price drop.
 
kuyaglen said:
Thats the Stacker 810, the first encarnation of the model. The Thermaltake Armor is TT answer to the CM Stacker 810. The following 830 could of warrented its own lineup. That being said I own the TT Armor BNS (non windowed version) to house my 12 hdd 3.1TB fileserver backup rig. And have experience with the current 830 style models.

Both very nice cases.
Both very heavy

Stacker costs more.
Stacker has a removeable mobo tray.
Stacker has a vent on the bottom
Stacker has a removable & side open switchable door.
Stacker is more accomodating to longer PSU's
Stacker has a built in handle placements

TT Armor holds more drives stock than the 810.
TT Armor flaps are cosmetic.
TT Armor is easier to open panel wise.
TT Armor has longer mobo stand offs that must be used in order to properly align the components.

Though I like my Armor very much, I have to say in terms of features the Stacker 830 has more of them. Though I like my Armor because its cleaner looking. The flaps swing open and close as I bring that system to lans.
Click to expand...


Actually, the pics of my stacker I posted are the Original Stacker (Pre 810)

From what I have read on forums the 810 doesnt have a removable motherboard try.
The Original one does. The easiest way to tell the original from the 810 is the 810 has 2 x120mm back exaust fans.
Also the original stacker has a 12 step method from turning the case from atx to btx.

To OP :
I had never played with a stacker before I bought mine from newegg and got it delivered.
I really don't like TT cases (they seem to take other companies ideas and warp them)
But what steered me away was the doors on the front that dont do anything other than get in the way.
 
Hm. Well, Where did you buy your stacker from? No matter what, shipping cost for the cases will be insane.
 
I bought my Stacker from Newegg.

It was $145 before tax/shipping.
Shipping was $28 for the case and the three 120mm fans I also bought.

DSCF0190.jpg


DSCF0192.jpg

Look how much longer it is than my Chieftec mid-tower.
 
Whoa. I don't know if it's me or the sleep deprivation but I think the stacker is starting to grow on me. What fans did you buy for it?
 
The stacker is too big for me... and too pricy.I'm going with the 900. I Have seen them both in person.

The 900 is great unless you swap out harddrives often, then it's a pain. And you can still fit SLI 8800GTX and a large tower cooler. And about wire management? I've seen many pics where a few simple hole cutouts lets you manage the cables better than most of the tower cases people are using.

Here are video reviews:

Antec 900
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7494970967421899506&hl=en-CA

Cooler Master Stacker 830
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=87001620476470356&hl=en-CA
 
Thanks for the videos. Well after watching the video for the 900, the thing can get pretty loud at medium/high settings.I'm not sure if this will be a problem or not but I will be putting the case on the floor and I use carpet. Will it be more prone to being a dust magnet this way?
 
Just a small bump. Today, I just went to Fry's. Low and behold I get to see in person the 3 choices of motherboards I'm deciding on,plus the cases. There was the p180,the 900,the stacker 830,and the armor. Well, in person the armor wasn't... as I thought to be. I didn't get why so many people were complaining about the flaps, but now I understand why. The overall quality didn't seem very good. Basically, now the armor is cut off of my choices. I'm certainly not insulting it, it just wasn't as I thought to be. It's now the p180 or 182, 900, or stacker. The stacker was uber huge and expensive but I liked everything about it besides it only having two fans. I liked the pull out cages on the p180 and the door didn't squeak. It's heavy but I can dig it. The 900, I was actually of thinking of buying right then because it was a 'promo' item at 99$ that supposedly ends on the 13th. I guess it all comes down to buying the 900 now, wait for the p182(I'm really not in a rush for building this pc), or pull the big,expensive trigger on the stacker(well actually, it depends which model I get,but yeah).
 
Yeah, at least 6 months before, unless you count the latest incarnation, the 'Extreme' - the version w/out the 25cm (really 22) fan, in it's place dual blow holes for AMDs 4x4.

Anyway, I like my 8003, although the first thing I did was loosen the 2 screws at each end of each flap and remove the damned things. They must have forgotten the magnets, because out of the box the things didn't hold closed AT ALL. Also, I ripped out that useless accessories box..Some may like it, but I needed the space.

The method of mounting the drives in the iCage is annoying. You must have done really well playing "Operation" as a kid to get the screws to go in right ;). And the back/top cage is a bit crowded for 3 drives, but at least there's the option. And the 92mm fan is a bit too loud @ full blast (I have it on a controller) - it's easily audible @ 12v over the 2xLED 120s included, the 25cm in the side, and my 2x120mm Deltas that Swiftech uses (pulling).

And the quick clip bits could have been designed a bit better, but doesn't matter much to me, as 7 of my bays are taken up by my rad (Swiftech kit).

Anyway, as you can tell, overall I like my Armor (with reservations noted of course). When I was in the market, it was between a Stacker 810, the Armor, and a Lian-Li - v1000 series, G70, or ultimately v2000 series.Bottom line, the Li-Li would have cost me a lot more (armor 8003 shipped for $150, v1000/g70 @ ~$250, v2000 ~$300), and I wouldn't have been able to fit my rad setup (INTERNALLY was a BIG decision with me) without modding the top of the case.

The Stacker was priced very well at the time, I almost bit on the blue 810 @ svc for under $100..While it had the space for mounting my rad up front, there wasn't much room for anything else expansion wise after..It's got what 11 bays? 7 for the rad, 1 for my DVD burner, rest taken by the HDD cage..max 4. With my Armor there's the 3 1/2 adapter bay which house the buttons and my old Vantec fan controller, my burner, the iCage, then obv the rad. Room for 3 HDDs, 4 if I ditch the Vantec unit, and 2-3 more out back...Another what 6 more if I managed to procure the HDD mount adapters from an LCS Armor (or fashion one myself).

The Stacker 830, I think is ugly in the 1st version, black looks WAY better. But again, the price - I'd be looking @ $250-300+ for it. Also, as w/ the 810, limited possibilities for expansion, taking into account my 2x120 w/c setup.




Anyway, enough crap. I realize the OP has crossed the Armor off the list. I just figured this may prove useful for someone on a case hunt in the near future that is looking @ an Armor (buy or not). And before anyone mentions it, it may be a bit odd for w/c and the big side fan, but I figure my mobo & components aren't going to overheat due to loss of airflow (from an air cooler) this way...Gives me an easy out if I decided to go back to air cooling in the future too. I know the wiring job SUCKS, I threw it together when I got the case, I'll redo it when I replace my cloudy ass tubing (need more of that Hydrx stuff too). And NO, no more pics of the case, these were the first few I took w/ my new camera, and I've been too lazy to get some rechargeables (it's about dead).

Oh, and ps screw the Armor LCS, that's one thing my mind hasn't changed on - Thermaltake's pretty crappy watercooling components. Craptastic blocks, weak as piss pumps, and I'm not sure about the rad they use, but in the past they've used cheapies ala 2000. I'd rather take the $100-125 saved from Armor 8000-8003 -> LCS and put it towards a 3rd party kit or piece meal quality stuff together.
 
Refer to my post in the hotdeals forum:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1166251


I am planning on building a system in the next couple months and starting to buy parts now. I ordered an Antec 900 for just over $100 w/free shipping from nextwarehouse.com

It came today, it's Revision 2 and had great service from this company.

And the fans are not loud at all on Low, barely audible, and the airflow is incredible. As far as dust... if you have a dusty room sitting almost any case on the floor is going to create problems. Either inside or by clogging up the filters... btw if its that bad in your apartment/house just buy some aftermarket filters.
 
Wow, didn't think anyone would bump this. I've concluded on getting an Antec P182 when it comes out actually. I'd like some lights but all I'll do is put two led fans where the hard drive cages are so I can see it through the grills. hopefully that plan will work out.
 
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